Author: JT Smith
Kelly McNeill writes, “The arrest of the Russian computer security expert Dmitry Sklyarov, after he allegedly released a program to crack encrypted PDF files, has set a grim precedent in the field of independent security research. The publication of the security methods, and exposing the allegedly secure PDF files as easy to crack, have lead to a counterstrike by Adobe and a raid by the FBI. Sklyarov did not crack secret documents with his program; he only exposed the fact that Adobe’s PDF format is a flaky product. It is a sad fact that independent researchers who expose the flaws in digital products face the same treatment as infamous KGB spies.”
